Thursday, March 24, 2011

Guest Post: Maria - DIY Cleaning Supplies

When SHTF, who’s going to clean your clothes? No, not the cleaning lady; she’s hiding in a bunker somewhere. Nope, not your mom in New Jersey. Just you and your trusty homemade cleaning supplies.

That you need to buy thirty different products for your face, hair, kitchen cleaning, and laundry is a big commercial lie. You end up wasting money, creating waste, and slowly poisoning your body with nasty chemicals that stay in your fat cells for longer than it takes for the actual stuff to run down the drain and ruin some poor fish’s life. The truth is that you can make most of your cleaning supplies with these basic and cheap ingredients:

These ingredients collectively last longer and are cheaper than the thirty bottles of sprays and suds you get from the grocery store. You’ll save money now and know how to survive later.

DIY Disinfecting Cleaning SprayThis is for everything from cleaning the kitchen counter to wiping down door handles during flu season. Tea tree oil debuts in this recipe; a recent study in Italy has concluded that the stuff actually inhibits growth of the dreaded H1N1 virus, so it’s an effective antibacterial agent. No need for bleach here. Combine the following ingredients in an empty spray bottle, shake, and spray.
• 4 cups water
• 6 tbsp liquid soap
• 40 to 60 drops of tea tree oil

DIY Laundry Detergent
• 1/3 bar vegetable-based soap, grated to a powder
• ½ cup washing soda
• ½ cup borax
Put the grated soap in a sauce pan, adding 6 cups of water over heat until the soap melts. Add washing soda and borax and stir until consistent. In a bucket, pour 4 cups of hot water (not boiling) and then the soap mixture, stirring until consistent. Add 6 more cups of water followed by a gallon. Stir again and then let it sit (with a lid) overnight or over 24 hours. The mixture will turn into a soupy gel and you can use ½ cup of it for a full laundry load, even with a high efficiency (HE) washer. Soap is low-sudsing, so it won’t turn into a 5th grade volcano project.

DIY Fabric Softener
Just add ½ cup of white vinegar at the start of your washer’s rinse cycle. This way, you can line-dry your clothes to save money on the energy bill.

DIY Hair Conditioner
Combine ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar with 2 cups of water in an old bottle. It smells bad, but it’ll go away when you rinse it out. It leaves your hair soft, shiny, and dandruff-free.

DIY Body Soap
Combine 1 cup of liquid vegetable-based soap with ½ to 1 cup of water with a few drops of your favorite essential oil. Tea tree oil and lavender are both antiseptic and good choices.

You can make body soap from the little bar soap scraps you leave in the drain, too. Put them all in a pot of water, about 1 cup of water per 1 tbsp of soap, and heat until thoroughly mixed. Add a few drops of essential oil and put in a bottle. Shake before use.

Bio: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where she writes about education, online degree programs, and what it takes to succeed as a remote student in online schools. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Shit like this scares me more than the apocalypse, well at least man-made apocalypse.

Tea tree oil debuts in this recipe; a recent study in Italy has concluded that the stuff actually inhibits growth of the dreaded H1N1 virus, so it’s an effective antibacterial agent. No need for bleach here.

I'll look into tree tea oil, but it's probably bullshit. 1) Viruses are not bacteria! 2) It's never a bad idea to wipe hard surfaces down with a bleach solution. Fact is there are a lot of dangers to using "natural" products when you don't know what you're doing, and hell even then it can be iffy. Take, Lavender, it's in all kinds of crap, and the "tree-hugger" or "quasi-naturalist" think it's great, but did you know that it's a Estrogen analog, and can have all types of unintended consequences. If you you want survive, stick to what works - Soap and water! The modern day stuff is of course the best! Why, because everyone uses it with very, very, very few consequences. Sure, learn how to make due, when you have too, but stay away from all the mystical crap, it really can be dangerous. everyone says that oh my, modern shampoo or soap will kill you, bullshit, think about it, how many millions use it daily, it may not be necessary to use, or good for your hair so to speak, but it sure is hell isn't particuliarly harmful or they would be sued! Now, if you were use "old school" lye soap, that would be pretty damn tough on your skin and hair, and that's exactly why you wouldn't use it everyday, not like mondern stuff that is designed to be used everyday - by design! Same thing with clothes cleaners, very, very few people these days get their clothes really dirty, of course some do, but the vast majority your selling modern detergent to, don't. Anyway, think about it. K

This was a very informative and helpful article! I really appreciated it. Not only is it useful for when disaster strikes, but it's also very useful for those of us who strive to live an organic, DIY lifestyle. Thanks again, keep the goodness coming!

Interclean Australasia are leaders in High Quality Cleaning Products, Cleaning Equipment and Cleaning Supplies.cleaning supply company providing discount cheap janitorial cleaning supplies to the public at wholesale prices

That you need to buy thirty different products for your face, hair, kitchen cleaning, and laundry is a big commercial lie. You end up wasting money, creating waste, and slowly poisoning your body with nasty chemicals that stay in your fat cells for longer than it takes for the actual stuff to run down the drain and ruin some poor fish’s life.

This will be very helpful for me, as I took all the chores at home personally, I never had any idea about preventing H1N1 virus, except consulting doctor and have my children check regularly.hi very nice blog and very nice information and Good luck on your business, and keep on providing good service. Rest assured, these will perfectly suit the particular needs of your customers.